The Living History Cruise Air Show

The air show portion of the Living History Cruise is always a crowd favorite.  The ship arrives at the Bay Bridge just after lunch has finished.  Andy, who coordinates the planes for the air show, is on the Flying Bridge listening for the signal from the planes that they have arrived and are ready to commence the attack.  Crew members have manned the guns and guests are ready with cameras and phones.  The show will begin with a training flight.  The planes fly close to the ship and the pilots like to wave to the guests on board.  The next to arrive are more serious.  Japanese planes fly in for an attack and the gunners answer with volleys of bullets.  After several close passes the enemy planes are chased away by an TMB Avenger.  She's a graceful lady in the air and once the danger has passed she'll fly by with her torpedo bay doors open showing off her fire power.  Last, but not least, a B-25 Mitchell Bomber "Briefing Time" flies directly overhead.  There is no mistaking the sound of the engines of this beauty.

The Stearman was a primary training plane during World War II.  This plane comes to us from the St. Mary’s County Airport where you can take a ride over southern Maryland. I’m not sure the pilots would have been this friendly in 1944.

The white Val is actually a Vultee BT-13 Valiant that was converted for the Tora, Tora, Tora movie to look like a Val. The green "Zero" is a Russian Yak 52TW.  The air show is spectacular to see from the ship and we're fortunate to have photographs taken from the air too.

You'll never be closer to the planes in an airshow than you are on the JOHN W BROWN.  The sights and sounds of the planes are an experience you'll never forget.

Here is the Zero coming in for a dive bomb run.

She's the Boss is a WWII Grumman TBM Avenger torpedo bomber.  She chases away the enemy planes and saves the day.

Briefing Time is a B-25 "Mitchell" Bomber that comes down for the air show from the Mid Atlantic Aviation Museum in Reading, PA.  There is no mistaking the sound of this engine with any other aircraft.  What a way to end the show!

Another image you won't see anywhere else but a Living History Cruise.

As you can see by comparing this photograph from a voyage of the JOHN W BROWN in 1944 with the photograph from one of the Living History Cruises we work hard to provide as authentic an experience as we can.  There really is nothing else like it anywhere!

Project Liberty Ship, Inc is a 501(c)3 non-profit, all volunteer organization engaged in the preservation and operation of the historic ship JOHN W. BROWN as a living memorial museum. Gifts to Project Liberty Ship are tax deductible.

Who Visits the JOHN W BROWN

Living History cruises are the way most people get a chance to visit the BROWN, but there are so many others.  We have 3-4 Living History cruises each year but we also have people that charter or utilize the ship for various functions.  Just in the past three years, we were the venue for Trawler Fest University in Baltimore in 2013, the setting for Seabadge Advanced Leadership training, and this past September we were the venue for the Blue Angels Foundation during the air show held in Baltimore for  Sailabration.  

On a smaller scale we:

• hold weddings on the ship
• receptions
• company parties 
• meetings
• school visits, and we are in the 2nd year of our own STEM program
• Scouts (Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and Sea Scouts)...overnight visits and day trips to work on up to 13 badges
• tours (Smithsonian, historical organizations, maritime groups...)

Outside of our WWII voyages, the ship has been as far north as the mouth of the St. Lawrence River and Windsor, Ontario, and as far south as Jacksonville, Florida for port visits.  We work closely with area law enforcement agencies and fire departments as a place to do practical training scenarios.  We have many professional education partners in the maritime industry (MEBA and MITAGS).  Sometimes ships will make visits to Baltimore and the crew will come visit a different type of ship then their own (like the SS Shirane (see picture below) or the Kalmar Nyckel and the El Galeón Andalucía.  We also will periodically move from Clinton Street to either Fells Point or the Inner Harbor for specific visits and have had thousands of visitors board the ship on these short visits. Stay tuned for our summer travel plans here in Baltimore. 

Students from the Naval Academy in Annapolis visited the BROWN as part of their engineering class. Here, Mike worked with half of the group in the Engine Room.

 Joe took the others on a tour below deck as well as down to the pier to get some ship history.

 It was a very hot day and we popped a few of them in the walk-in freezer to cool them down. On this day, not only did we have those from the Naval Academy, but we had visiting crew members from El Galeón Andalucía

Smithsonian tour group.... Smithsonian Associates  They toured the BROWN and some other great ships in Baltimore.  First stop...1940's....this old Liberty Ship.

The Honorable Helen Delich Bentley, former Representative from Maryland who has always been a supporter of the Maritime industry and history of Baltimore. 

Local Maryland Photography Meetup groups.

SeaBadge.... Sea Scout leaders retreat, held aboard the ship over 4 days. 

Blue Angels Foundation....  They chartered the ship to view the Blue Angel Airshow during Sailabration 2014. 

The Captain from the JS SHIRANE who along with his officers came for the short ride from Clinton Street to the Inner Harbor for the 2012 portion of Sailabration.  Below they are visiting the flying bridge.  JDS SHIRANE (DDG-143) is a destroyer in the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.

This was a very interesting visit.  They were impressed with the fact that volunteers have kept this ship alive. The next day some JWB crew visited and were given a great tour by their Chief Mate.

Project Liberty Ship, Inc is a 501(c)3 non-profit, all volunteer organization engaged in the preservation and operation of the historic ship JOHN W. BROWN as a living memorial museum. Gifts to Project Liberty Ship are tax deductible.

Nothing Else Like It Anywhere

The idea of the Living History Cruise aboard the JOHN W BROWN is to give guests a taste of what it was like for the sailors on board the Liberty ships crossing the Atlantic Ocean in 1944, while raising much needed funds.   It's a way to keep history alive and to educate the public.  These ships carried troops and much needed supplies.  They were dangerous voyages with threats from the air and from the sea.  There are lots of things to do and see while on board.  There are several museums below deck as well as our Ship Store.   There is a self guided tour that takes you through the four levels of the ship. The Manhattan Dolls, The Ultimate Abbott & Costello Show and Calliope provide wonderful period entertainment all over the ship.   And of course, there's the air show.

The cruise starts at the Maryland Cruise terminal. When the Captain gives the order, the whistle blows and we're on our way.

Guests are welcome on the Flying Bridge and the Captain is happy to answer questions. There is a special silent auction and the winner gets to steer the ship from the Flying Bridge.

The U.S. Navy Armed Guard was a service branch of the US Navy during World War II. They were responsible for defending U.S. and Allied merchant ships. During each cruise they perform a memorial service that includes a 21 gun salute and a wreath laying ceremony.

Veterans who are on board are invited to participate in a wreath laying ceremony.

The Manhattan Dolls sing their way through era favorites. They also take lots of pictures posing with cruise guests.

Guests and crew alike are often swept up in the music and enjoy dancing on deck.

The Ultimate Abbott & Costello Tribute Show is always a crowd favorite. Here they perform the perennial crowd favorite Who's On First.

Calliope are a Barbershop Quartet that wander the ship during the cruise thrilling guests with their harmonies.

There isn't a bad seat in the house for the air show portion of the cruise. The planes fly along both sides of the ship and overhead as well. You can stay in the shade and enjoy the show or take a front row seat on one of the gun decks. Crew members will man the guns to fight an attack by Japanese planes.

Guests shoot the Japanese planes as well but it's not quite as loud.

A 1945 TBM Avenger shows off its torpedo as it comes in to defend the BROWN.

You can just see the wing tip of the Avenger, She's the Boss, here as it chases the Japanese planes away from the BROWN. Photo Credit: Stephen Chapis.

The air show culminates with a couple of fly overs by Briefing Time, a North American B-25 "Mitchell" Bomber. There is no mistaking the sound this plane engine makes.

As the ship heads back into port at the end of the day we are happy to know that our guests have memories that they'll treasure for a long time to come.

Don't miss the ship....

To buy tickets for the May 9th cruise click HERE.

To buy tickets for the June 13th cruise click HERE.

To buy tickets for the October 3rd cruise click HERE.  

 Project Liberty Ship, Inc is a 501(c)3 non-profit, all volunteer organization engaged in the preservation and operation of the historic ship JOHN W. BROWN as a living memorial museum. Gifts to Project Liberty Ship are tax deductible.